A New Generation of Nations (100 Themes Challenge)
by tigerlily-parade
Summary: Aside from having personified countries as parents, the nations' children live fairly normal lives. Just like the rest of us, they love, laugh, cry, and experience all of the ups and downs that life has to offer. (Contains many canon characters as well.)
1. 001 - Introduction

**Author's notes:** Series contains same-sex couples (common pairings for canon characters and two OC couples) and suggestions of mpreg (although only one chapter so far deals with the idea directly.) Long story short, I'm not usually into mpreg, but the characters are based off a Hetalia neighborhood in a sims game that I decided I wasn't going to take that seriously and used cheats so I didn't have half my couples having to adopt. I hadn't really planned on their kids developing personalities in my mind, but they did, haha.

As of the time of writing this, I have 20 chapters completed, and plan to upload one a day. Uploads thereafter will not likely be as regular, but I do plan to continue the series. (Part 21 is currently in progress.)

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**Taylor Kirkland and Sofia Williams, age 5**

A young boy and girl, cousins and neighbors, waited anxiously outside the boy's Victorian-style home on a warm, early-autumn morning. Now and then they'd look down the street, searching for that yellow bus they would always see drive by their houses; it was finally their turn to get on it and go to school. Their parents watched them from the porch and wondered how this day had come so fast.

Though Taylor Kirkland and Sofia Williams were only cousins, they could easily be mistaken for siblings. Both sported glasses and light blonde hair, and if Taylor's bangs didn't cover his, one could see that they shared the same brow. Other features were similar. The biggest difference could be seen in their eyes; Sofia's were a deep blue while Taylors shone bright green.

"Are you scared?" Sofia asked her cousin.

"Nope," he replied with a grin, an empty space showing where he had already lost his first tooth. "Are you?"

"A little," she admitted. "What if the other kids are mean?"

"Then be mean back!"

"I don't know if I can…"

In several ways, the two acted just like brother and sister. Taylor, although he took on the name Kirkland, acted more like a Jones. He was the more obnoxious one, loud, energetic and slightly bossy. Sofia took mostly after her father Matthew; she was more reserved, quiet but intelligent, and usually felt overshadowed by her cousin. Nonetheless, the two (usually) got along rather well.

Finally, the bus appeared at the end of the road and slowed to a stop right in front of the house. Waving to their parents, they climbed onto the yellow vehicle. They guessed they had to sit in the front, because that's where all the kids their age were; everyone in the back looked like big kids. Spotting her cousin on her mother's side, Sofia joined the dark-haired, brown-eyed Nicolai Braginksi. Though he mainly took after his Chinese side in appearance, he had Ivan's nose. Sofia was equally close to him as she was Taylor, and sometimes preferred his company more. His personality was much more similar to hers.

"I thought you said you weren't mean," Taylor whined, taking the seat in front of Sofia and Nicolai.

"I'm not," Sofia replied.

"Yes you are, 'cause you're not sitting with me even though we got on the bus together! That's mean."

"Whatever Taylor," she said, turning to Nicolai. "He's so annoying sometimes." Nicolai laughed in agreement.

"But you have to love him," he told her, speaking with a slight Russian accent.

"I guess so…" she slouched in the seat.

"I like your lunchbox," Nicolai commented, noting the Spiderman image.

"I don't. My uncle got it for me… Taylor has a Superman one. He says we're his little heroes, but… I'm just not that into superheroes."


	2. 002 - Love

**Adrian Zwingli, Gabriella Zwingli about age 5-6**

Love.

This one little word can mean so much. Love comes in many different forms, and can be expressed many different ways. To children and adults alike, love can be a mystery.

Adrian and Gabriella Zwingli, both about five or six years old, pondered these mysteries as they strolled through a field behind their house, hand-in-hand, looking for flowers to pick for their parents.

"I want to go out and pick flowers for my mama," Gabriella had said to Switzerland. Though he was technically her uncle, she looked up to him like a father.

"Okay, but take Adrian with you," he had insisted. Though she was his niece, he thought of her as a daughter.

Those were just two ways of expressing love.

"You're showing your mama that you love her by picking her flowers," Adrian explained. A light wind picked up and ruffled his white-blonde curls, lifting them away from his freckled face. "And my papa loves you, too, because he didn't want you to go outside alone. That's why he made me go with you."

"That makes sense," Gabriella agreed, bending down to pluck a few yellow dandelions out of the earth. She gave one to her cousin for his father. Instead of keeping it for that reason, however, he placed the flower in her auburn ponytail, using the hand not still intertwined with hers. She giggled, and her smile highlighted all of her impish features, from her little nose to her pointy ears. "I always forget you're actually my cousin, not my brother."

"Me too. I think it's because we live together and we both only have one parent 'cause we're adopted. So my papa is like your papa too, and your mama is like my mama."

"So we're like normal families, only different."

"Yeah, except our parents love each other like brother and sister instead of like they're married. That's why they adopted us, because they don't have anyone to have babies with, but they still wanted to have children."

"I wonder why they never fell in love with anybody…" Gabriella contemplated. Adrian shrugged.

"Maybe they're just happy to be with each other," he guessed.

"Maybe…" she paused, thought for a moment, picked some more flowers, then thought again. "Do you think we'll ever fall in love and get married?" she asked.

"Yeah, some time a long time from now."

"What kind of person do you think you'll marry?"

"Someone really pretty," Adrian stated definitely. "And really nice, too."

"I bet you're right," Gabriella told him. "You know everything, so you must be right."

"And you'll marry a handsome prince," he said. She giggled some more.

"I'd get to live in a castle and everything."

"And wear pretty dresses."

"And go to the royal ball."

The two stopped to think about what their lives would be like as adults. It seemed so far away to them; they had more years left to go until then than the number they had already lived. They decided not to consider it for too long. Besides, they were happy with their current lives; no need to dwell on what could happen in the future.

Hearing a voice call to them, they decided it was best they headed back. Each clutching flowers in one hand and each other's palms in the other, they started towards their home with their gifts.


	3. 003 - Light

**Kashiko Honda, age 7-8**

Go out, go out, go out! Kashiko Honda pleaded, carefully watching the sliver of light shining into the dark living room. In her bed pretending to sleep, she waited for the sign that her parents were finally settled in for the night. She knew she was being naughty, but she just couldn't help it; she wanted to keep playing her new game so badly! She didn't care that she had school the next morning. She left her door open so she'd see when their light finally went out. Then it would be safe to turn the computer back on. If she was going to do this, she had to be sneaky about it; no way would she get caught. Then she'd get grounded and wouldn't be able to play at all!

A few minutes passed and nothing happened. She wanted to peek in their room and see what they were up to, wondering why it was taking them so long to get into bed. Maybe she'd pretend she was getting up to go to the bathroom…

Yes, that's a great idea, she decided. Crawling out from underneath the covers, she walked slowly to the door. Then she made her way towards Greece and Japan's room, and peeped through the partially-open door as she passed, making sure not to get caught.  
_Ew, they're kissing and stuff_, she observed, grossed out. But she also noted that they were both in their pajamas; it wouldn't be long, then.

But of course, she would have to continue on to the bathroom to complete her plan. If they heard her coming, that's what they'd be expecting her to do. So she went into the bathroom, turned on the light, and shut the door behind her.

Okay, now what? she wondered. Hoping her reflection would provide the answer, she stared into the mirror. In it, she saw a Japanese-looking girl with dark brown eyes, who you could only guess was partially European by her curly, light brown hair. Said reflection had no response. Since she didn't actually have to go, she grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle and proceeded to spend the next few minutes reading the back of it. It was all she could think of other than just standing there.

As soon as she felt confident a sufficient amount of time had passed, she flushed the toilet and ran the sink for a few moments. Sure, it was a waste of water, but she wanted to convince her parents that she was actually going to the bathroom. At the time, it was worth it.

She hoped that when she opened the bathroom door, the light would be off. Much to her disappointment, it still shone through into the darkness. She considered spying on them again, but didn't quite feel comfortable doing so after the last time. So instead, she simply walked back to her room, slid back into bed, and stared out into the living room, once again keeping a close eye on that sliver of light. It didn't take long, however, for her eyes to grow heavy. She struggled to keep them open; she had to have another chance to play that game for a little while.

But, much to her dismay the next morning, she couldn't help falling asleep before that light was finally turned out.


	4. 004 - Dark

**Adam and Christina Edelstein, age 6-8**

Adam and Christina Edelstein always slept with a nightlight. They lived in an old estate, easily the oldest building in Hidden Valley, and strongly believed that the ghosts of previous occupants still resided there at night. But, they knew, ghosts were only ever seen in the dark. Not that either of them had ever actually seen one, but in all the stories they had heard, they always appeared at nighttime. So, they left a light on in their bedroom to keep the ghosts away.

But one night, the bulb flickered out.

To Christina, this was a nightmare come to life. She froze upon awakening, finding herself in the pitch-black room. She lay there for several moments and prayed for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then she would at least be able to see a little bit. She wondered if her twin was awake too.

"Adam?" she whispered. No response. "Adam?" she asked a little louder.

"Yeah?" he finally responded.

"You awake?"

"…Yes."

"The light went out. I'm scared."

"Me too."

"What should we do?"

"I dunno, try to go back to sleep I guess."

And so they tried. They both honestly, truly tried. But neither could stop thinking about what might be hiding in the dark somewhere. After some time, they came up with a plan.

"Maybe Father and Mama can find a new light bulb for us," Christina suggested.

"Yeah, they must have extra somewhere," Adam agreed.

Stepping carefully, the two edged towards the bedroom door. Adam fumbled about for a light switch in the hall while Christina stuck close by. Eventually placing his hand on it, he flicked it on.

But the hall remained dark.

"Uh-oh" they both said. Christina clung to her brother's arm.

"Now what do we do?"

"We'll just have to go in the dark," Adam said, a touch of bravery in his voice. Putting an arm around her, he slowly led her down the hall and to the top of the stairs. "Okay, this is going to be the hard part. We have to go a little at a time." Warily, he stepped one foot down on the top stair, and then the other. Then he stopped and waited for Christina to do the same. Together, they proceeded down the entire staircase this way.

They both took a heavy sigh when they reached the bottom, relieved to have made it through the hardest part safely. Just to try it, Christina reached out for a light she knew was right nearby; that one refused to come on as well.

"None of the lights are working," she observed. "So now what do we do?"

"We made it this far… let's go wake them up anyway."

At this point, Austria and Hungary's room was just a short distance away. They had the courage to make it this far in the dark together, so the one last hallway seemed like the best option. It was closer than going back up to their room, where they'd still have no nightlight. They wondered if the lights would work in their parents' room, though they knew they probably wouldn't.

"Mama? Father?" the both whispered.

"What is it, darlings?" came their mother's voice.

"The lights aren't working," the boy said.

"And we're scared," the girl added.

"The power is out," Austria stated. "We had a bad storm come through; it finally blew over a little while ago."

"Come here," Hungary invited them. Both eagerly crawled into bed with their parents, lying right in between them. There, they would surely be safe from the ghosts that probably haunted their house. Parents were always the best at keeping the scary things away. Each parent held one child close to them, and their mother quietly sang them an old Hungarian lullaby that she had known growing up. Though the twins were nearly fluent in German, they had yet to start learning her language; therefore, they didn't know what most of the words meant. Yet somehow, just hearing her voice brought them comfort, and soon her words lulled them to sleep.


	5. 005 - Seeking Solace

**Dante Feliciano Vargas, Adrian Zwingli, age 7.**

It took so long for fighting to stop.

From where he hid in his room, Dante Feliciano Vargas listened to the muffled voices of an argument coming from downstairs. His parents didn't bicker often, but when they did, things could get pretty bad. This included shouting, insults, and, of course, plenty of foul language.

But he had never seen Romano throw his engagement ring at Spain before.

He feared it was over. This was definitely the worst spat they had ever gotten into. He didn't even know why they started fighting, though he knew some of Romano's personality traits were definitely a contributing factor. He understood his papa's attitude and stubbornness, as these were traits he had inherited and struggled with himself. But he knew that didn't make it right, and he still hated it just as much.

Now that the house had fallen silent, he wondered if it was safe to go downstairs. He decided not to risk it though. He didn't see the point; it's not like his parents would probably speak to him anyway. They never spoke to anyone when they were angry.  
He wanted to cry, so he curled up on his bed and let the tears fill his emerald eyes. What was the use in holding them back?

The answer to that came in the form of a knock on his door just moments later. He didn't reply, but he did sit up, push his brunette bangs from his face, and wipe the dampness away with the back of his wrists. The knock came again, this time along with a voice.

"Dante? You in there?" The accent told him the person outside his room wasn't either of his parents, as he had expected, but instead his best friend Adrian Zwingli, Switzerland's adopted son.

"Yeah."

The boy entered, and shut the door behind him.

"Did you parents get in a fight or something?" he asked. "They barely said anything when I came in. Usually they're really happy to see me."

"Yeah, it was really bad," he told him. Adrian's face dropped.

"How bad?" he asked, crossing the room and taking a seat on the bed next to his friend.

"I think they broke up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. My papa threw his ring my padre."

"Wow, that's harsh. I'm really sorry about that." Adrian wanted to hug Dante and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but refrained from doing so; he questioned whether it would be weird. Sure they were friends, but it seemed like only girls hugged each other. And what if things didn't work out between his parents? He didn't want to feel like he had lied to him. He pushed those thoughts away. "Anyway, I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out or something. Gabby is at a sleepover so I've been kind of bored. Wondered if you wanted to play video games or something."

"I guess…"

"It might help keep your mind off things."

"Maybe. But can we do it at your house?"

"Sure."

The two went downstairs and searched for one of Dante's parents. It wasn't long before they spotted Romano seated in front of the computer at the far end of the room, staring blankly at a screen with nothing opened. His eyes were red and puffy, expressing sorrow and regret. The young Spanish-Italian approached him cautiously, and spoke softly when addressing him.

"Is it alright if I go over to Adrian's house?" he asked.

"Yes, that's fine," Romano answered flatly, probably trying to hide his real emotions. "Are you spending the night?" Adrian and Dante looked at each other and shrugged. They hadn't really planned on it, but…

"It might be the best thing to do, since it's already kind of late," Adrian said.

"Yeah, I guess I will."

"Okay then. Don't stay up too late."

Dante promised they wouldn't, and didn't actually plan on it, but they did anyway. It was a Friday night; it wasn't like they had school or anything in the morning. Besides, he mostly forgot about his parents while he focused on their games, and he knew as soon as he lay down to sleep, thoughts of them would come rolling back.

He wondered many things after they finally crawled into bed around midnight. He wondered if they would stay mad at each other forever or if they would make up and get married. And if they did make up, when would they make up? And when would they get married? Would they still fight? Would they ever get a divorce?

Adrian walked him home the next morning, making sure he would be okay. The blonde gave Dante the option of turning around and going back any time, but he really wanted to be home. He wanted to know how things were going. He was a little afraid to know, but it would have bothered him until he found out anyway.

When he walked through the front door, he could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

Calm voices.

He made his way towards the entryway at the other end of the living room and peeked in. Spain and Romano were sitting at the kitchen table, soft expressions on both of their faces. Their eyes conveyed apologies, and Spain kept a gentle hand on Romano's. Dante could just make out their words.

"So I'm guessing you'll be wanting this back?" Spain inquired, pulling a ring out of his pocket and holding it up in front of the Italian. Romano let out a nervous laugh.

"Yes, yes; that would be good," he replied. He waited patiently while his partner slid the band back on his left ring finger. Dante then revealed his presence.

"So is everything okay now?" he asked cautiously, walking towards them. They looked at him and smiled, amused by his perfect timing.

"Si, it's fine now, little one," Spain confirmed, pulling him into his lap. "It was all a misunderstanding."

"We didn't talk about the little things when they were bothering us, and it all built up," Romano admitted, "so we exploded. We both overreacted."

"Just a bit of relationship advice for you," Spain laughed. "It'll be your turn someday."

"Don't say that, tomato head!" Romano exclaimed. "I don't want to think about that yet."

"I think I still have a while to go, Papa," Dante assured him. "So… are you guys definitely getting married now?"

"Yes, we're definitely getting married now," Spain told him, squeezing him gently.

"I'm glad."


End file.
